Morning Show Wrap, by ABC News Political Unit

N E W Y O R K, September 15, 2004 &#151;<br> -- A product of Noted Now and The Note

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KERRY CALLS INTO QUESTION IRAQ'S READINESS FOR ELECTIONS IN JANUARY:

"I think it is very difficult to see today how you're going to distribute ballots in places like Fallujah, and Ramadi and Najaf and other parts of the country, without having established the security. I know that the people who are supposed to run that election believe that they need a longer period of time and greater security before they can even begin to do it, and they just can't do it at this point in time. So I'm not sure the president is being honest with the American people about that situation either at this point," Sen. John Kerry says while calling into Don Imus' show.

KERRY STANDS BY VOTE WHILE SUGGESTING HE WOULD NOT HAVE GONE TO WAR UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES THAT EXISTED:

"Not under the current circumstances, no, there are none that I see. I voted based on weapons of mass destruction," Kerry tells Imus.

KERRY ON POST-VIETNAM WAR ACTIVITIES:

"I went, I did my duty, I came back, I saw what I saw, and I told the truth. If some people have trouble with that still, I'm sorry about it," Kerry tells Imus.

ROSS ON ABC:

ABC's Brian Ross reported that CBS News did not disclose that anyone disputed the authenticity of the Bush National Guard document when, in fact, some had disputed the document's authenticity. Ross closed by saying that another expert says the documents are forgeries although they do reflect the opinion of the commanding officer. Ross described it as an effort to make a "good story better."

BROWNSTEIN ON CNN:

Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times said on CNN that support for the war is edging up as Bush talks about transforming the Middle East. He cited a "dramatic decline in the percentage of people who said it was a mistake to go into Iraq" and he attributed the movement to "Bush's success in reframing the rationale for the war."

"What's striking is that even as support for the decision is going up, people are not saying that it is going better. What's changed," Brownstein said, "is that people seem willing to bear the cost because Bush is making the case" that transforming the Middle East will make America safer.